Their Silent Understanding
by Phoenix on cloud nine
Summary: On the anniversary of something in Gibbs's past, he makes Tony come in on his day off to 'go through paperwork'. After an accident leaving Tony concussed, they both open up. Father/Son relationship. Just a Oneshot :D


**Just a oneshot, (A rather long one, but still only one chapter :P) about our favourite dysfunctional father and son lol ;) **

Tony grumbled as he exited the elevator. Gibbs had called them all in - on what was their weekend off - to finish paperwork. Not only did he have to leave a critical football game (He was still wearing jeans, a tee-shirt and some converse all-stars), he had been about to win it for them just as the phone rang. He was now sure that they had lost (He'd never hear the end of it) and he knew Gibbs would be so snappy at him he might never recover.

He'd actually argued with his Boss on the phone, telling him he'd only be a few minutes more, if he was just allowed to stay for those few extra minutes he'd come in not only on time, but victorious. Gibbs had snapped for him to get down here before he lost his job, so he did - saying a dull goodbye to his team mates, who probably wouldn't invite him to the next game.

Throwing his back to his desk in his usual manner, he glanced around, noticing that neither McGee nor Ziva were there. Raising an eyebrow at this, he sat down, not too sure what to do. All he'd been told was that he had some paperwork to complete, and as Gibbs was nowhere to be seen, it couldn't hurt to just slack off for a few minutes. Throwing his feet onto the desk, he'd just rested them before a gruff,

"I don't think so DiNozzo." echoed from up the stairs. He hastily swung them back and said,

"I was just waiting for you Boss." He heard a grunt from behind him and guessed Gibbs had come down the stairs by now and was stood right behind him.

"Well I'm here now. Get to it."

"Ah… I don't know what 'it' is yet Boss…" Gibbs walked past him, throwing several files down on his desk as he did so,

"I want you to go through all these cold cases, and write them all up again."

"But that'll take hours Boss!" He moaned, before almost cowering under the glare Gibbs sent his way, "Shutting up." He amended, and pulled the first file towards him. Gibbs nodded and walked off with his usual cup of coffee,

"Where are McGee and Ziva?" He asked, before Gibbs got so far away that he had to shout,

"Home."

"It's just me?"

"Yeah, sure looks that way."

"Why?"

"Because DiNozzo, you are Senior Agent and sometimes your paperwork skills leave a lot to be desired. The last reports I got from you I could barely read. McGee's and Ziva's were satisfactory. Any more questions?"

"No, that about clears it." Tony answered, his voice dulled and bored, as if resigned to what he was doing. Gibbs walked off after this without another word. Tony scowled as he saw how awful the original agent's writing was. He must have done something worthy of incurring Gibbs's wrath, and it couldn't have been arguing over the phone that morning (Although that couldn't have helped) because he was being rung to be told to actually _do_ this. Sighing as he couldn't think of a reason he looked down at all the reports and frowned.

It was going to be a long morning.

~*~

About three hours into it, and Tony had written up only 2 original reports, Gibbs walked back in,

"Finished yet?"

Tony flared up and snarled, "Well actually no Boss, see - I didn't pack my microscope and Special Agent Foreman likes to think that anyone idiot enough to read his case has eyes like a falcon, so he writes as tiny as possible. And the other 5 will probably take me just as long since they were all written as though the Agent had been tortured first, they were so crumpled they were probably stuck in someone's pocket before being filed, and they think that you spell 'Victim' with a 'U', so I'm probably going to need a dictionary as well." He got a head slap, which he had been expecting to be honest, but he needed to vent his anger, "Sorry Boss. Look, can't I have a break?"

"It'll take you longer to finish them." Tony's head perked up slightly,

"Is that a 'Yes, on your own head be it'?"

"No, it's an 'Aren't you glad you won't be having a break until you've finished them, otherwise they'll take much longer.'" Gibbs shot back,

"No break at all? But I'll have died of hunger; I already didn't eat anything this morning!"

"Not my fault." Gibbs answered, before walking away. Tony snarled at a passing Probie who was in for the day and wondered what right Gibbs actually had to keep him here working while he didn't look to be doing anything. Watching him for a bit longer, all Tony could see him do was occasionally take a hip flask out of his pocket and stare at it for a while before going down to see Ducky.

~*~

"Yo, DiNozzo! Go long?" He glanced up, after an agonizing 4 more hours of cold case files. The Agent who sat behind Ziva, Malcolm Taylor, was stood on the other side of the office with a football in his hand. It was _so_ tempting to Tony, who hadn't moved from his seat all day - but he was sure Gibbs was in the office somewhere. Glancing around (Malcolm doing the same on his side) he breathed out as he saw Gibbs _wasn't _there and finally stood up, stretching his aching, stiff limbs. Grinning for the first time since coming in, he dodged out from behind his desk and yelled,

"I'm open!" Other agents around the office paused to watch, as Special Agent Taylor threw the ball towards Tony, while another agent (A rather attractive woman called Amanda Rowle) ran as if to tackle him to get the ball. Tony grinned,

"And it's DiNozzo running for the win - but it looks like Rowle's coming to intercept so he passes back to Taylor!" He commentated, throwing it back to Malcolm as another agent joined, so it was now 2 V 2. Malcolm yelled,

"Tony, go long!" He looked over and saw both Rowle and the other agent (Josh O'Ryan) running towards him, trying to get ownership of the ball. Feinting right, he dodged round O'Ryan and turned towards Malcolm to catch the ball, but he turned too quickly, and the lack of food he'd had that day plus the hours spent staring at documents without moving caught up with him and he stumbled, feeling dizzy. Just as this happened, he caught his foot on the corner of his own desk and fell, cracking his head off the side of it.

"Shit." He dimly registered someone say, before an eerie quiet settled over the office. Wondering if he'd gone deaf, Tony managed to shuffle into a sitting position and squinted around - seeing Malcolm hastily sitting back down with his eyes looking at his desk. Both Rowle an O'Ryan also went back to their desks, leaving Tony to wonder what happened.

"What the hell DiNozzo?" Ah. Gibbs had just arrived to see his elegant fall. Wondering what to do, he thought it best to stumble through his pain and get back to his work,

"Sorry Boss," He slurred, "I'll just get back to my cold cases…"

"Like hell you will DiNozzo, you're going down to Ducky."

"But Boss, I'm fine, I don't need…" He felt Gibbs crouch down beside him and gently move some of his hair out of the way to feel the tender part of his head. Hissing in pain, Tony went to move out the way, before feeling dizzier than before and almost slipping and hitting his head again,

"You're bleeding DiNozzo, and you clearly have concussion."

"Boss that's ridiculous. Look, I'm fine, see?" He waved a hand, not sure why that would cement his statement. Gibbs hauled him upright, slowly, and got Tony facing him, ignoring the other agent's looks,

"How many fingers am I holding up?" He asked, sticking three fingers in front of the younger man.

"Ah… 6?" Gibbs rolled his eyes and hooked one arm underneath Tony's armpit, leading him towards the elevator, taking a moment to glare at the agent hesitantly receiving their ball from the office floor.

Going down to Ducky had been the worst part. The elevator swooped down, and Tony had to clutch to the side for support, rather than annoying Gibbs further by grabbing onto _him_ instead. However, Gibbs noticed his agent turning a rather unattractive shade of green,

"Tony?" He asked. Said agent glanced over and whimpered,

"It's all gone a bit fuzzy Boss…" Gibbs sighed and put his arm around his Senior Agent again, helping him out the elevator towards autopsy. As soon as they were in Tony started to heave, and Gibbs hastily got him over to the sink, allowing him to bring all the contents of his stomach back up - which in this case was nothing.

"Oh dear, my poor boy," Ducky said, glancing up when he heard it, "What ever is wrong with you?"

"Hit his head Duck," Gibbs explained, leading Tony over to a table and making him sit there, worried about how shaky the younger man was, "I don't think his vision's all that clear, and he's having trouble getting balanced."

"Hey Boss, Boss!" Tony hissed, getting Gibbs to come nearer to him, "I think Ducky cuts dead people up on these tables. Honestly! D'you think we should investigate it?" He whispered this, looking confused at the small chuckle that came from Gibbs,

"I think it's ok DiNozzo, it's not a chop shop."

"But Boss…"

"Tony, shut up and concentrate on Ducky." The ME looked him over, gently cleaning the deep gash in the side of his head and putting some stitches over it,

"I think I should put a bandage over it, just to be on the safe side." He told Gibbs, who nodded, biting his lip anxiously as Ducky injected Tony with what had to be some sort of pain relief,

"Duck, have you got any idea what'll happen if we let him into the office talking head injury and painkillers?" Ducky nodded and answered,

"It's a risk I'm willing to take Jethro, he must be in quite a lot of pain. What happened? Isn't it his weekend off?" He walked to the sink (The one that didn't have vomit in) and started to wash his hands,

"I got him to write up some old cold case files, and when I came back in he was playing football in the squad room with some other agents. He stumbled and fell, hitting his head off a desk."

"Why did you have him in on his weekend off?"

"I told you Duck, he needed to write up some old case files - improve his writing." Ducky shook his head,

"The _real _reason." Gibbs sighed and looked over to Tony, who was looking around idly and swinging his legs from the table he was sat on. He looked so… so _young_. His tee-shirt was slightly baggy, making him look thinner and his shoes were scuffed, reminding Gibbs of several incidents in the past of grazed knees and falls off bikes.

"You know what today is, Duck?" He asked quietly, still gazing at Tony. Ducky nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder,

"Yes Jethro, but I'm still not sure how this involves Anthony…"

"It's just nice to have someone else there Duck," Gibbs spat, angry that he had already opened up a fair deal this morning, "Some more company."

"But why DiNozzo?" Ducky asked gently, smiling as the agent glanced up at the sound of his name,

"Hey Ducky! Can you…" He tailed off, hearing the elevator 'ding' as someone stepped out. Gazing around at the ceiling for a moment; he looked to be in awe, making Gibbs laugh slightly and say,

"Come on Stony, we'd better get back to the office." Ducky pulled him back and said quietly,

"I know you miss them Jethro, and I know that today, 15 years ago, it happened, but that's no excuse to make Anthony suffer as well. Be nice to him." Gibbs rolled his eyes but winked at Ducky, thanking him, before looping Tony's arm around him once more,

"I'm hungry…" Tony complained childishly as they left, "I can't remember the last thing I ate…"

"Maybe that was the reason he fell." Ducky said, motioning for Gibbs to turn back round,

"Duck, he hit his head _and_ just took painkillers - I wouldn't take anything he says too seriously." Ducky shook his head nonetheless and said to Tony, in a clear voice,

"My boy, when was the last time you ate?" Tony bit his lip, thinking,

"Yesterday? Did you know there's a movie called 'Yesterday', it was based in South Africa about this woman with AIDS…"

"Tony," Gibbs warned him, putting a finger on his lips, "Shush. Let Ducky examine you."

"But Bo-oss!" He whined, "He already has!"

"Did you feel light headed at all this morning Anthony?" Ducky asked, "Your blood sugar levels are pretty low. Buy him some chocolate Jethro, boost him up."

"Abby?" Tony asked, furrowing his eyebrows, "How did you fit in there?" Ducky and Gibbs glanced at each other, sighing, before Abby's voice echoed around the room,

"Hey Tony! What happened?" They turned around to see the small screen near Ducky's desk lit up, and with Abby's face on it, looking concerned,

"He's fine Abbs," Gibbs insisted, "Just decided to throw himself at the floor and hit the desk with his head when he was _supposed _to be working."

"Gibbs! Why was he in on his day off?"

"Why are you?" Gibbs defended himself,

"I know what today is Gibbs, I was going to talk to you but I guess you needed someone else huh?"

"Abbs…" He said, wearily, "Please, not now." She frowned, but said,

"Don't come and talk to me until you're sure Tony's going to be okay." With that she switched the monitor off, leaving Gibbs to stare at Ducky, his mouth slightly open. Shrugging, the M.E gently propelled both agents out of autopsy, smiling as he caught the end of their conversation,

"…No DiNozzo, you _cannot_ have popcorn, I don't care how 3D it looks, but we are _not_ at the cinema…"

~*~

No one argued with Gibbs when he pulled Tony's chair over to his desk and sat the younger man down on it. He seemed to have zoned out entirely, and made Gibbs jump slightly when he suddenly declared,

"Y'know, my Dad used to hit me if I got concussion." Gibbs raised an eyebrow. He didn't know _that_ much about the kid's past, but he knew enough to know it wasn't exactly a storybook childhood,

"Is that so?" He said quietly, playing along with his agent,

"Uh-huh. But then Mom died, and he got worse. You know what it's like to loose the person you love most in your life?" He asked this with complete despair, his eyes giving off a frenzied expression that at any other time Gibbs would have thought he was drunk, "I think you do," Tony continued, thinking hard, "I mean, when you're nice to Abby you can tell that something's happened, and every time you smack me in the head it shows. But you never talk about it. Neither do I. I've never told anyone about my past before, so I'm not gonna start now."

Gibbs wasn't sure whether Tony was actually aware that he'd told Gibbs something, and he was almost certainly convinced the huge opening up thing was just brought on by painkillers and/or concussion,

"You know what would be nice?" He asked, running his hands through his hair tiredly, "If you were as nice to me as you are to Abby. I bet you tell her things from before. Why not me?" Gibbs could sense the jealousy in his voice, the anger and betrayal, and guessed that he did at least owe Tony, the man he looked at almost like a son, that much.

"Okay Tony," He said softly, seeing the younger man's eyelids droop and knew he wouldn't remember any of this after, "Today, 15 years ago, my wife and daughter, Shannon and Kelly, died in a car crash - while I was away."

"That's…" Tony tried to come up with something to articulate how sorry he was, "I wasn't there when my Mom died," He told Gibbs, "I was locked in the garden shed for disturbing her afternoon nap. I only went in to ask if she was okay, 'cause I'd heard her groaning. I called for Dad when I saw her curled up on the bed. He elbowed me out the way and ordered the Butler to lock me in the shed." Gibbs couldn't even fathom locking a child in a garden shed. It was just horrendous,

"Tony, I…"

"I like your story better," Tony interrupted him, "You talk about them both in a really nice way, I loved my Mom, but I bet my voice gets odd when I talk about my Father. I can tell you really loved them both…" His voice was getting thick and groggy, but Gibbs felt a need to continue with his story,

"Kelly would have been the same age as you now," He said, quietly, "Might even have joined NCIS. She was sharp as a knife, most beautiful little girl in the world," He noticed Tony had fallen asleep, but carried on anyway, "I was really low," He confessed, "And thought that marrying another three times would buy me back some of that happiness. It didn't, but then, I met someone who gave me back a glimmer of what I had. That fierce, parental instinct to always protect them and to make sure that whoever hurts them gets what they deserve. He was just a cop in Baltimore, but I knew there something good about him as soon as I saw him, being chased around a crime scene by his Boss because he started snapping pictures of a witness's legs." Gibbs sighed, leaning back in his chair as Tony continued to sleep,

"I guess you'll be wondering why I told you to come back today DiNozzo," He said, "It's not because of your handwriting, although it _is _the worst I've ever seen, I just… sometimes I need to know that that cop in Baltimore is okay, and to have him around on a bad day… it makes it better. Even if he does somehow manage to injure himself while on desk duty." He smiled at this end bit, knowing he'd never be able to say any of this to Tony normally, but they had a silent understanding. It only took a glance, a present of another cup of coffee or a soft pat of the back to know that they both understood each other and sometimes needed each other's company without the constant surrounding of other agents offering up more information.

He did wonder, briefly, about waking DiNozzo up and re-telling him the small story - but one look and he knew he didn't have to. Tony may have been asleep, but the large smile on his face told Gibbs he'd heard every word spoken.

And appreciated it.

**I had no idea where this was going lol. It was originally just going to be hurt Tony, Papa Bear Gibbs, but my fingers took over :S Ah well, review? Xx**


End file.
